Second Thoughts
by Katheryn Mae
Summary: House is offered a job at Mercy Hospital in New York, but something stops him from taking the job at the last moment. HUDDY.


Summary: House is offered a job at Mercy Hospital in New York, but something stops him from taking the job at the last moment. HUDDY.

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"Why you have to drag me along to this?" Cuddy rolled her eyes at the sign on the door of Mercy Hospital's main lecture hall. Wilson, who was holding a program of the event, looked up at her.

"I did not 'drag you along' – you wanted to come." He skimmed the program, "All boring, they're going to yak on and on about this place for fifteen minutes before House even gets to speak."

"I didn't want to come, you know that, why'd you make me?" Cuddy grabbed his arm before they went into the hall; "It took me ages to find a sitter for Rachel, and right now, I could care less what House does." She glanced at the door, "Do we have to do this?"

"Yes, because you do care," Wilson made his way towards the door, "We need good seats, so he can see us." Nodding, Cuddy followed him into the hall; where they both took their seats, in the third row, smack dead center in front of the podium where House would be speaking.

"Let me introduce to you all," Mercy's Dean, Dr. Alan, was speaking, "Doctor Gregory House, our new head of diagnostics." House stepped up to the microphone, he had shaved, and he had a different cane than the ones he had kept at his apartment in Princeton. For a second, both Wilson and Cuddy thought he had spotted them, but they didn't think so at the same time.

"I'm sorry," he looked up to face the hall, "but I can't take this job anymore." He looked to Dr. Alan, "I'm sorry for wasting your time on this celebration, all the publicity, everything."

"Why not?" Dr. Alan was trying not to show his anger.

"I don't belong at Mercy. I don't belong in New York." He paused, "Before I came to work here, I worked at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey. That's where I belong, I never belonged here, and even if I tried, I couldn't." Wilson's jaw had dropped and he, along with Cuddy, was staring at House in shock.

"Princeton-Plainsboro has a new head of diagnostics. There is no sudden opening."

"Yes there is," Cuddy stood up, shocking most of the people in the hall, "Lisa Cuddy, dean of medicine at Princeton-Plainsboro. Our current head of diagnostics is only temporary, he was put in his position when Doctor House left almost two years ago, we don't have a long term head."

"But that's no reason why you can't hire someone else or employ your current head as a long term head." Dr. Alan's eyes flicked between House, Wilson and Cuddy.

"I can't, no matter what you say, " House took the microphone again, "I can't work here. I know I just said this, but I owe everything to Princeton-Plainsboro, and it's team of doctors there. The doctor in my position now, he doesn't belong there, he's a neurologist, not a diagnostician, he deserves his own position back." He looked up, his eyes meeting both Cuddy's and Wilson's, "Everyone I've ever cared about has walked through those doors with me and that's the way I want it to be, not like here."

"House," Wilson stood, "reconsider this, working at here at Mercy is a once in a lifetime chance, you're loosing that if you come back."

"I once told a story, to a class of med. students in a lecture hall in Princeton-Plainsboro, I'm going to tell it again, but this time, I'm going to tell you something else." He went on, to tell the whole story of his leg, and the treatments he'd been through. Most of the doctors who worked at Mercy stared in shock, while others, including Dr. Alan, regarded it as a story. Cuddy and Wilson were both watching him, half in shock and half sympathetic. But House wasn't done when he told them the result of the operation. "But there's one thing I didn't tell that class, something that I didn't know how important it was then. The doctor who operated on me, I owe her everything, and here, I can't do that. Not here, not at any other hospital, I have to be at Princeton-Plainsboro, with the people who matter most to me."

"So you're saying, because of something that happened to you nearly fifteen years ago is affecting your job choices now?" Dr. Alan was livid with what he was hearing. "You want to go to Princeton-Plainsboro because you owe some doctor your life?"

"She's not just _some_ doctor there and she never will be." House snapped, completely oblivious to how Cuddy and Wilson were reacting, "She's the one who matters the most to me – if it wasn't for her, I could be dead."

Most of the room stared at him, stunned at his statement. Dr. Alan's mouth was opening and closing, but he wasn't saying anything. Doctors and other guests were muttering to each other, debating about where he should work. Wilson's jaw had dropped and he was staring open mouthed at House. Beside him, Cuddy was beaming, but her eyes betrayed her smile because inside, Wilson could tell that she was completely shocked at what House had just said.

"So that's it?" Dr. Alan seemed to have recovered, "You're walking away from this job, and back to one you don't even know is available?"

"I know it will be," House caught Cuddy's eye and she nodded, "As I always say, everybody lies, apparently I was lying here. I don't want this job," he turned and made his way toward the steps and towards the audience, "Good night everyone."

"Wilson," Cuddy turned to him, "We need to talk to House, now." She tugged his arm slightly, and he jerked it out of her grasp.

"Keep that up and you're going to rip my arm out of its socket; go find him then." He pushed her towards the crowd of people that had gathered around House. She nodded and pushed her way through the crowd, getting some glares from numerous people who worked at Mercy and some grateful looks from bystanders.

"House," she grabbed his arm, "wait, listen, you're job doesn't come back like that. You need to get out of here, the three of us, and yes, I include Wilson, need to talk." He nodded at her and pushed his way through the crowd, before they met Wilson by the door, and they took off into the December night air, leaving the hall full of people wondering.

"Listen, there's other reasons, I wasn't going to take the job anyways, I would have done it even if you guys hadn't been here." House insisted after Wilson had driven a few blocks, he and Cuddy were curled in the back seat of the car since the front passenger side had a suitcase and two pairs of soaking jackets piled into them. Snow nearly blinded them as they drove through the city, and they ignored the complaints and random outbursts as Wilson found something against a certain driving movement someone had made.

"You don't have to tell me," Cuddy began quietly once Wilson had turned on the radio, "But was there another reason besides the fact that you missed Princeton-Plainsboro that prevented you from taking the job?" House nodded, and for a moment, it registered with him that Cuddy was curled against him and was half-snuggled in his arms. "But I'd kind of like to know."

"As my boss or a friend?" He asked, "Because if you're asking as my boss then you might not want to know."

"Friend," she quickly confirmed, feeling House take her hand and lean closer to her ear.

"Are you busy tomorrow night?" He asked quietly, she shook her head, and he smiled, "Good, I'll pick you up around seven."

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AN: I wanted to write more, but I was planning on making this a one-shot, so I decided to end it there. Updates for my longer stories (for House) might be a bit sporadic at the moment because I got the season five DVD three days ago and I just started rewatching the whole season Sunday morning. School also starts in a week (curse you school) so the updates will be even more sporadic then … or at least for a while.

**Review! **

**~KM**


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